FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOS ANGELES (November 7, 2011) - Powerful performances by Brenda Blethyn and Sotigui Kouyaté drive this touching film from Rachid Bouchareb, the three-time Academy-Award nominated director of DAYS OF GLORY (Indigènes) and OUTSIDE THE LAW (Hors La Loi). LONDON RIVER, the story of two parents looking for their respective children following the aftermath of the London bus bombings will have its American premiere at NY's Cinema Village on December 7 and at the Laemmle's Royal in Los Angeles on December 16 with a platform release to follow.

By Jordan Elgrably

Ahmed in Mohammed Al-Daradji's "Son of Babylon"This year several Middle Eastern countries submitted feature films to compete for nominations in the category of Best Foreign Film Oscar, among them Algeria, Turkey, Iraq and Israel (a country that rarely misses a chance to compete in the annual Oscar lottery). Egypt had skin in the game with Daoud Abdel Sayed's Messages From the Sea, and there were films from Greece, Azerbaijan and Iran (Mehdi Naderi's Farewell Baghdad). Only one film has a chance on Sunday.

Event Details

Date/Time: 

Mar 4 2011 7:00pm - Mar 6 2011 10:30pm

Price: 

Free to the public, electronic reservations required
Click here to RSVP

Where: 

USC's Norris Cinema Theatre/Frank Sinatra Hall, School of Cinematic Arts
900 West 34th Street
Los Angeles CA 90089
Info 213.740.2804

Rachid Bouchareb's "Outside the Law": nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Film category this yearUSC's School of Cinematic Arts and Visions and Voices: The USC Arts & Humanities Initiative, along with the Arab Film Festival present this three-day Visions & Voices film symposium, from Friday, March 4th through Sunday, March 6th, 2011. Films to be screened include Rachid Bouchareb's Outside the Law (right) and features such as Caramel, Masquerades, Persepolis and Son of Babylon.

Free admission, open to all. However, electronic reservations are required for all screenings. RSVP here.

About the Festival

This three-day film festival will present and explore a panorama of emerging and established cinemas from the Middle East, including recent works from Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and Iran. The festival will highlight unifying themes in Middle Eastern cinemas, as well as delineate the complex role that filmmakers play in granting visibility to salient political and civil rights issues, often at odds with the political establishment. Filmmakers and scholars will discuss the ability for cinema to be used as a vehicle for mobilizing social change and how these films reflect and respond to their domestic cultures.

...a Rachid Bouchareb retrospective...By Omid Arabian

On Wednesday December 8th, the American Cinematheque (in association with Cinema Libre Studios and the Levantine Center) held a retrospective of the films of Franco-Algerian director Rachid Bouchareb at LA's Egyptian Theater. It is rare for works of Arab directors to be seen and appreciated by American audiences, and the retrospective was a testament to the power of Bouchareb's films and their ability to speak to viewers across nationalities.

Jodie Evans, Roxana Saberi, Nazanin Boniadi[FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-DEC. 6, 2010] Marking its 9th anniversary in Los Angeles, the Levantine Cultural Center (LCC) recognized three remarkable women at the East-West Awards on Wed., Dec. 1, 2010, in a dinner gala that took place at the Beverly Hills Women's Club. Nazanin Boniadi, a British-Iranian actor and official spokesperson for Amnesty International USA, was the master of ceremonies, while prominent Arab Americans Fabian Alsultany and Momo Loudiyi provided musical entertainment, supported by triple-Grammy winner KC Porter,, Algerian vocalist Fella Oudane and American percussion master Rowan Storm, with dancer Rosa Rojas. The evening culiminated with the sly satire of Iranian American actor and comedian Maz Jobrani.

Event Details

Date/Time: 

Dec 8 2010 12:00pm - Dec 9 2010 12:00am

Price: 

Free to the public, reservations required, 310.657.5511.

Where: 

American Cinematheque/Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre
Egyptian Theatre
6712 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028

Rachid Bouchareb RetrospectiveCinema Libre, New Voices in Middle Eastern Cinema/Levantine Cultural Center and Rachid Bouchareb in association with Cohen Media Group and Sonotrach present a retrospective on the filmmaker's work on Wednesday, December 8th, 2010.

Seating is limited and you must RSVP no later than Dec. 5, 2010 (see below for complete details).

Since his first film, Rachid Bouchareb has been questioning immigration, rootlessness and mixed cultures. Born in Paris to an immigrated Algerian family, he was long seen as a curio within the French cinema. Nominated to the Best Foreign Film Oscar with Poussières de Vie in 1995, he found critical and public success with Little Senegal (2001) shot among the Afro-American community in Harlem, New York. But his most important success so far has been Indigènes (Days of Glory), the multi-award winning film and major hit at the French box office. "Cinema is a wonderful tool to converse with French society," says Bouchareb.

Event Details

Date/Time: 

Dec 8 2010 7:00pm - 10:00pm

Price: 

Free to the public, reservations required, 310.657.5511.

Where: 

New Voices at the Egyptian Theatre
6712 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90028

Rachid Bouchareb's "Outside the Law"This special free director's screening will be followed by a reception (members only). Directed and written by Rachid Bouchareb, Outside the Law (Hors la loi) is Algeria's official submission in this year's Oscar competition for Best Foreign Film. Produced by Jeán Brehat, it stars Jamel Debbouze, Roschdy Zem, and Sami Bouajila. The film opened in Los Angeles in November. The running time is 138 minutes (unrated); the languages are French/ Arabic with English subtitles.

The French movie poster for "Outside the Law"By Pat McDonnell Twair

Rachid Bouchareb's Outside the Law (Hors-la-Loi) runs a close second to Gillo Pontecorro's 1965 classic, The Battle of Algiers, in offering a visceral experience of the long and bloody Algerian war for independence from France (1954-1962). This 2010 film—Algeria's entry in the best foreign language category of the upcoming Oscars—tells the story of Algerian immigrants' struggle for independence inside France. The film raised French ire earlier this year when it screened in Cannes. There were even troops in full riot gear protecting the Palais from potential riots on the day it premiered.

Reviewed by Jordan Elgrably

French poster for "Masquerades": the debut film by Lyes Salem
Would life in a small Algerian bled (bilad), beyond the big city of Algiers, be so bad? That's the proposal of Masquerades (Algeria, 2008, 90 min.), a homemade farce and the debut feature film written and directed by Lyes Salem. A Paris-trained theatre actor and auteur, Salem also stars in the role of Mounir, a rather typical upstanding family man who struggles with his conscience and a sister with a rather unusual malady.

A handsome if possessive brother and husband, Mounir works as a "horticultural engineer" for "the Colonel"—a character we never set eyes on, though we see his cortege of black SUVs show up in the town to create a little dust storm in celebration of an important wedding. "Love For Ever" is the recurring theme image every time we see the black vehicles circling the town square, kicking up dust that covers the townsfolk.

Event Details

Date/Time: 

Oct 22 2010 6:30pm - Oct 24 2010 10:00pm

Price: 

$15 general admission (reception 6:30 pm, film at 8)

Where: 

Writers Guild of America
135 S. Doheny Drive
Beverly Hills CA 90211
parking across the street $3 after 6 pm

 

A scene from "Masquerades"The 14th annual Arab Film Festival, celebrating its fourth year in Los Angeles, will open with a feature film by Lyes Salem (Algeria 2008, 90 min). "Masquerades" was Algeria's 2009 official entry for the 2009 Academy Awards, and winner of many prestigious awards including Best Feature at the Dubai International Film Festival, and Best Arabic Film at the Cairo International Film Festival.

All-access pass to films Fri-Sun is $65. Purchase online here.